Tool for polishing and/or lapping stone material surfaces

ABSTRACT

A tool (U) for polishing and/or lapping stone material surfaces, comprising a member ( 1 ) made of abrasive material, a support member ( 2 ) for handling said tool (U), a cushioning layer ( 3 ) arranged between said abrasive member ( 1 ) and said support member ( 2 ); also provided are attachment and fixing means (F) to firmly and removably secure said abrasive member ( 1 ), support member ( 2 ) and cushioning layer ( 3 ) to each other.

The present invention relates to a tool suitable to be used for polishing and/or lapping stone material hard surfaces, such as, for example, ceramic, natural stone, glass, agglomerates of the Bretonstone® or Terastone® type or similar materials. A tool for polishing and/or lapping is known and employed in the field of stone material processing and is defined, in general, by a portion made of abrasive material, mounted on a support member with the interposition of a rubber layer, suitable to allow the adaptation of the same tool also to non-planar surfaces. Such three elements are firmly secured to each other by means of adhesives or glues: therefore, once the abrasive part is worn from use, the entire tool must be replaced, with increasing costs and without the possibility to separately dispose of the various single worn components of the tool itself.

Further, the above-described known tool allows the replacement of the mentioned rubber layer so as to adapt the tool itself to different working conditions, with a greater or lesser degree of elasticity.

Some commercially available tools also have a rigid, “cage” attachment structure, adapted to contain and secure the mentioned abrasive part: this cage structure allows the independence of each individual element; moreover, when using such tools, lateral forces due to sliding cause the same cage structure to determine an excessive stiffness, in marked contrast to the requested elasticity in compression. The purpose of this invention is therefore to overcome the above-highlighted drawbacks.

In particular, the aim of the invention is to make a tool allowing the possibility to replace even just one of the mentioned component members, maintaining elasticity both in compression and laterally.

The structural and functional features of the present invention and its advantages over the known art will become even more apparent and more evident from the claims below, and in particular from an examination of the description that follows, referring to the attached drawings, which show the schematic representations of some preferred but not limiting embodiments of a tool, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the present tool;

FIG. 2 is an A-A sectional view of the tool of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the tool of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows a detail of a variant of the present tool;

FIG. 5 shows a detail of another variant of the present tool; and

FIG. 6 shows a detail of a further variation of the present tool.

With reference to the attached figures, U globally indicates a tool for polishing and/or lapping stone material hard surfaces, such as, for example, ceramic, natural stone, glass, agglomerates of the Bretonstone® or Terastone® type or similar materials. The tool U comprises a portion or member 1 made of abrasive material, mounted on a support member 2 with the interposition of a layer 3 made of rubber or equivalent, adapted to allow the adaptation of the same tool U to non-planar surfaces as well. The member 2 has a conformation, known per se, such that it may be easily handled by the user during use.

According to the present invention, the attachment of the mentioned three components (member 1, member 2 and rubber layer 3) to each other, so that each of the same components is detachable (e.g. to replace it in case of wear or other) autonomously and independently from the others, is achieved by removable coupling via at least one member F, preferably a plurality of them, of the plastic band type or similar, adapted to attach all three members 1, 2 and 3 of the tool U to each other.

For this reason, the support member 2 is provided with at least one through hole 4, inside which a respective mentioned band-like member F is inserted.

Further, advantageously, the member 1 can always be removably attached to the rubber layer 3 by, preferably, but without limitation thereto, a first strip V1 made of Velcro or the like and, likewise, the rubber support member 2 can always be removably attached to the rubber layer 3 (to the opposite side with respect to member 1), preferably, but without limitation thereto, by a second strip V2 made of Velcro or the like.

Such Velcro strips V1 and V2 can be over-moulded directly on two opposite surfaces of the rubber layer 3, or alternatively, on the respective surfaces of the abrasive member 1 and support member 2.

The rubber layer 3 may also be provided with suitable elastic means 5 for further increasing the cushioning effect.

Finally, it is worth highlighting that the mentioned band-like removable member F can also be directly applied or formed during the moulding process of the components of the tool U itself, for instance by a grid G, as seen in FIG. 6. 

1. Tool (U) for polishing and/or lapping stone material surfaces, comprising a member (1) made of abrasive material, a support member (2) for handling said tool (U), a cushioning layer (3) arranged between said abrasive member (1) and said support member (2); wherein it further comprises attachment and fixing means (F) to firmly and removably secure said abrasive member (1), support member (2) and cushioning layer (3) to each other.
 2. Tool according to claim 1, wherein said removable attachment means (F) include at least one band (F) made of plastic material or equivalent.
 3. Tool according to claim 1, wherein said support member (2) is provided with at least one hollow seat (4) for the passage of said attachment and fixing means (F).
 4. Tool according to claim 1, wherein said cushioning layer (3) is made of rubber.
 5. Tool according to claim 1, wherein said abrasive member (1) is removably secured to said cushioning layer (3) by a strip (V1) made of Velcro or the like.
 6. Tool according to claim 1, wherein said support member (2) is removably secured to said cushioning layer (3) by a strip (V2) made of Velcro or the like.
 7. Tool according to claim 1, wherein said cushioning layer (3) further has suitable elastic means (5) to increase the cushioning effect. 